The Dape to Life Camp Road FCT, looks like any other normal road when it is dry. Thousands of Abuja residents ply the road on a daily basis while going about their daily business. This includes students, business people, corporate workers e.t.c.
However, whenever it rains the road starting from AA Rano Fueling Station to Angwan Cement becomes a death trap due to excessive flooding.
Motorist who are unlucky to ply the road during the flooding have their ‘hearts in their mouths’ for fear of their lives.
Whenever it rains, water covers the whole road from AA Rano Fueling station, up till angwan cement. The water partially submerges all vehicles, bikes or tricycles (keke napep) that are on the road at that particular moment.
This flooding makes it difficult for even skilled drivers to use the road effectively and extra caution must be put in place to avoid accidents or loss of lives.
Water is known to reduce the friction between the tyres of a car and the road, thus making it difficult for drivers to have full control over their vehicles, and increasing the chances of a vehicle sliding and falling off the road.
Indeed, there has been such cases where due to the flooding along that axis, Keke Napeps have been washed away into a river opposite AA Rano.
Even though the negative effects of the road can be clearly seen and many motorists have complained about the dangers they face on that road, the FCT administration is yet to find any lasting to the problem.
Whether they are waiting for lives to be lost before they swing into action is what one cannot phantom.
A while ago, some artisans were contacted to work on the road. It is not to my knowledge whether they were contracted by the FCT administration or through community effort.
However, the artisans did such an unprofessional job that the next rain brought all their work to nothing.
One is left to wonder if they were under funded or they failed to utilize the cash given for the job and intentionally did a shabby job only for them to pocket the profits.
It is therefore pertinent, that the minister of the FCT, Mohammed Musa Bello must rise up to his duties which is to protect the lives and ensure the safety of FCT residents.
He must find a lasting solution to the flooding problem before it leads to the destruction of cars, Lives and property.
I call on the minister and the entire FCT administration to look into the plight of the road users that ply the Dape to Life Camp road daily and solve the flooding issues immediately.
Written by:
Nelson Ugwuagbo, FCT
staff at LeadingReporters.com